March, 2006

Unions are committed to seeing progress on the introduction of flexible working hours legislation, the Council of Trade Unions said today.

Productivity statistics out today showing worker output has been steadily improving at a rate of 2.6% a year is higher than most would have expected, the Council of Trade Unions said today.

"The 91,000 workers whose wages went up as a result of today's minimum wage rise deserve better," Ross Wilson, Council of Trade Unions President said today.

Restaurant Brands' decision to follow BP Oil's lead and phase out youth rates should be a sign of things to come, says the Council of Trade Unions.

Coinciding with the annual lift in the minimum wage, the union movement will tomorrow launch its 2006 wages campaign focusing on lifting low wages and scrapping youth rates. The campaign will happen worksite by worksite, in tandem with a political campaign in support of the Sue Bradford Private Members Bill to end youth rates for 16 and 17 year olds.

"It took workers to stand together in unions to get rid of youth rates at BP and Restaurant Brands," said Ross Wilson, CTU President. "More needs to be done, and we are organising workers to get involved in their union's campaign to end youth rates."

"Employers should play their part too and follow BP Oil and Restaurant Brand's lead and end youth rates before the law requires them to," said Ross Wilson.

"Unions also want a $12 minimum wage now, not in 2008, and are calling on the government to introduce a $12 minimum wage sooner rather than later."

The Council of Trade Unions is expressing concern at New Zealands role in current World Trade Organisation services negotiations, and the level of pressure being mounted within them.

The Council of Trade Unions is calling on parents and schools to support not condemn the "Radical Youth" who took their youth rates protest to the streets yesterday.

"These young workers are exercising fundamental human rights guaranteed by international law" CTU president Ross Wilson said.

"We can't provide in our law for young workers to be paid less than adults and then deny them the right to protest against that discrimination" he said.

"I hope that parents will support this demonstration of democratic rights" Ross Wilson said. "It is a valuable education exercise."

"The CTU fully supports the youth action and leadership, and the UNITE union which is supporting them".

"Unionists met with Philippines' Government diplomats today to express concern at the alarming increase in deaths of union leaders in the Philippines, and the arrest of veteran political and union leader Crispin Beltran," Council of Trade Unions President Ross Wilson said today.

RALLY AGAINST U.S. LED INVASION OF IRAQ
WELLINGTON, 12.30 PM, 18 MARCH 2006

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

An illegal invasion based on distortions, half-truths and outright lies.

"The Maori Party shouldn't feel the need to grapple with a perceived hierarchy of a 'right to work' versus 'workers rights'," said Sharon Clair, Council of Trade Unions Vice President Maori. "These things are not incompatible, but Wayne Mapp's bill will attack them both."

"Wayne Mapp's private members bill setting up a 90 day probation period for new employees would strip away the legal rights of up to 200,000 workers every year," said Ross Wilson, Council of Trade Unions President today.

"Major employers should join BP in leading the end to the discrimination against young workers in wage rates" CTU president Ross Wilson said today.

"Research evidence and public opinion are clear" he said. "Business scaremongering about the negative impact of abolishing youth rates is unfounded, and the public want to see this blatant discrimination ended."

"The CTU is developing an industrial campaign aimed at eliminating youth rates from all employment agreements" Ross Wilson said. "We will be launching that campaign later this month."

"The EPMU and BP have set the benchmark with the agreement this week to wipe out youth rates at all BP owned service stations throughout New Zealand."

"Other major employers should follow that leadership and abolish youth rates discrimination before the law requires them to." Ross Wilson said.

Young workers in the Unite Union's SuperSizeMyPay.Com campaign are leading a campaign in fast food outlets such as Burger King, KFC and Starbucks. Young workers are not happy with being paid inferior rates to their older workmates, and they see no reason why at 16 or 17 they should not be paid the same as a 19 year old doing the same job.

"Their campaign has the active support of all other unions representing more than 350,000 union members and their families in all parts of New Zealand." Ross Wilson. "Employers can expect it to grow into a national campaign over the next few months."

The recommendations of the Ministerial Advisory Panel on Work-Related Gradual Process, Disease or Infection provide a long overdue focus on the 'Cinderella status' of occupational disease victims under our ACC scheme, the Council of Trade Unions said today.

There is no evidence of wage increases causing significant inflationary pressures, the Council of Trade Unions said today, in response to this morning's holding of the Official Cash Rate at 7.25%.

Unions are highlighting the many thousands of working women in New Zealand whose work is undervalued and underpaid this International Women's Day, CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

Today is International Womens Day, and The Unionist follows what has been happening here and overseas to mark the day.

Click here for details about events unions are involved in to recognise International Womens Day in 2006.

"Union campaigns such as SuperSizeMyPay, Healthy Pay for Healthy Hospitals and Fair Share in Aged Care, are showing workers that to get a fair deal at work they need to bargain collectively in unions," said Carol Beaumont, Council of Trade Unions Secretary today.